Should they or Not

[coheir]

Christian Parents.

A child not living at home.

Child 18 or over.

Child into alcohol and drugs.

Child lives with opposite sex.

Christian parents is aware of the child life style.

Child does cuss around parents even though ask several times not to.

Child not interested Bible, church or christian life.

Now the big question.

Should these parents continue to have this child come around and visit.

Scripture says not to fellowship with this kind of person.

What are your thoughts, any scripture would be great.

[OldShep]

Two thoughts, being a parent is not easy, being a child is not easy, tough love is hard to deal with,.... sometimes it works... othertimes only saddness comes out of us trying to change a person's behavior insead of living God's word and praying. I do not think Jesus would give up looking for that lost "sheep".

And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

(Luke 15:11-23 KJV)

Gal 6:9

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

ICL~~~Dennis

[coheir]

Two thoughts, being a parent is not easy, being a child is not easy, tough love is hard to deal with,.... sometimes it works... othertimes only saddness comes out of us trying to change a person's behavior insead of living God's word and praying. I do not think Jesus would give up looking for that lost "sheep".

And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

(Luke 15:11-23 KJV)

Gal 6:9

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

ICL~~~Dennis

In the verses you provide the father was not confronted with daily fellowship with his wayward son. i agree it is hard to be parent as well as the child. I go back to this the daily fellowship would it be dragging down the christian parents because it

is not affecting the wayward child at all according to op they are very content to be sinfull. I certainly agree if thhe wayward

ahanges his/her ways then accept them back but that was not my question.

[Leonard]

I recall Paulsaid that you COULD NOT avoid contact with such persons in this world, "...otherwise ye must needs go out of the world...." But you should refuse to even meet with people who call themselves Christians, and still behave as the ungodly.

So yes, the parents should have him over. They CAN cut the visits short if his language and conduct get too rough: "Sorry Johnny, we have asked several times, but you can't seem to control your anger and bad language today. It's very uncomfortable for us. Why don't we call it an evening, and try this again when you're feel more like visiting or having company. How about Saturday afternoon around 5 PM for barbecue'd hamburgers?"

[Bold Believer]

Christian Parents.

A child not living at home.

Child 18 or over.

Child into alcohol and drugs.

Child lives with opposite sex.

Christian parents is aware of the child life style.

Child does cuss around parents even though ask several times not to.

Child not interested Bible, church or christian life.

Now the big question.

Should these parents continue to have this child come around and visit.

Scripture says not to fellowship with this kind of person.

What are your thoughts, any scripture would be great.

Actually, Paul said don't fellowship with BELIEVERS who act like that. He goes on to say that he doesn't mean unbelievers because if he did, we'd have to go outside of the world. These parents need to practice familial excommunication in this case and restrict their child's visits.

[Guest man]

Christian Parents.

A child not living at home.

Child 18 or over.

Child into alcohol and drugs.

Child lives with opposite sex.

Christian parents is aware of the child life style.

Child does cuss around parents even though ask several times not to.

Child not interested Bible, church or christian life.

Now the big question.

Should these parents continue to have this child come around and visit.

Scripture says not to fellowship with this kind of person.

What are your thoughts, any scripture would be great.

The verse that keeps coming to mind is "Love your neighbor as yourself".

Speaking for myself, I would feel really weird telling my child they were not welcome in my home any longer. My parents did that to me many, many years ago. A lot of bridges got burned that day. Some of them never got repaired.

Instead of throwing the child to the wolves, why not share some of the Gospel with them? They may not like the bible, church or christian living but that shouldn't stop you from witnessing to them. They're in your space, take advantage of that. If they don't want to hear it, they'll quit coming around.

Where would any of us be if God gave up on the lost?

[gdemoss]

The most difficult thing any parent might have to face is a disobedient unbelieving child who loves evil. What does a believer do in such cases?

Pray.

We in and of ourselves have no power to convince the child of their error. Our words are worthless and cannot convince them of their error except they be spoken through the Holy Spirit using us as his vessel of choice for deliverance of his words. I suggest the parents enter into a prayerful commitment of intercession for their child, coming before the throne of grace and petitioning God to grant repentance unto the child to the acknowledging of the truth. That God might use his Holy Spirit through whatever vessel he chooses to bring certain conviction upon the child of their wickedness and a dire or urgent need to rid themselves of it with the only option being submission unto God. And then wait upon God for his work to begin as you know it is his will that none perish but all come to repentance and you are praying within the boundary of his will for the child. Encourage others to enter into intercessory prayer for the child as well.

What to do while waiting on God to change the child?

This is the hardest part of the journey to bringing a disobedient child to faith. One must live out the faith in every aspect of their lives so that the child cannot place blame on the ministry. The child cannot have room to say, why should I believe because you don't even follow Jesus. There should be absolutely no mistake that you believe the gospel and adhere to every precept of the bible. Trust that God will make this evident in the child's mind. Using you to convict the child of the truth of the gospel.

When I am dealing with issues in my life I like to return to various scripture to pray for things in my life and those in the lives around me. For example when dealing with sin I might ask God to keep me in the integrity of my heart as he did Abimalech from sinning against him. In the case of a disobedient and unbelieving child I might bring Manasseh to mind and ask the Lord to turn his heart as he did Manasseh's. Or if they be suffering from pride I might reference what God did for Nebuchadnezzar to bring him down. Remembering and bringing before the Lord that which he has done in others lives has a two fold effect for me. It shows me that God has already willed to do the same in anothers life and I can better know that I am asking that which is in his will and it fills me with hope that God will do that which is within his will.

May the Lord God Almighty pave the road that leads to this child bending their knee to Christ in this life and turning from their error of their way to acknowledging the truth in all aspects of life including obedience and respect unto those that God has placed as their parents.

In Jesus Name,

Gary

[Sevenseas]

Very good post Gary.